1 Nephi 1:5-8

[Heather]

1 Nephi 1:5-8

5 Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people.
6 And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly.
7 And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.
8 And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.

Quotes for Discussion

1 Nephi 1:5-6

Instead of punctuation, the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon divides up its phrases by introducing each by an “and,” “behold,” “now,” or “It came to pass….” Simply outrageous—as English literature, but it is standard Egyptian practice….In Egyptian these expressions were not merely adornments,…they are a grammatical necessity and may not be omitted.

Hugh Nibley, Collected Works, 7:150


1 Nephi 1:6
Similarly, Joseph Smith learned much in the First Vision that he was forbidden to write or tell (see Joseph Smith—History 1:20). Of his vision of the degrees of glory he said, “I could explain a hundred fold more than I ever have of the glories of the kingdoms manifested to me in the vision, were I permitted, and were the people prepared to receive them.”
TPJS, p. 305


1 Nephi 1:7
Overcome with the Spirit
The presence of God withdrew from Moses…as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth…it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself:…for this…I know that man is nothing…I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and…I was transfigured” (Moses 1:9-11).

Describing the reaction of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon to the vision of the three degrees of glory, Philo Dibble said, “Joseph sat firmly and calmly all the time in the midst of a magnificent glory, but Sidney sat limp and pale, apparently as limber as a rag, observing which, Joseph remarked, smilingly, “Sidney is not used to it as I am” (Philo Dibble, “Recollections,” Juvenile Instructor 27 [1892], 303).


1 Nephi 1:8
How is this verse textual evidence of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon?

In Alma 36:22 we read, “methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God.” These words are a twenty-one word quote from 1 Nephi 1:8. The impressive thing about these verses is that they are separated by hundreds of pages and several weeks of translating time.
See Church History in the Fulness of Times, 58-59.)

Given the fact that Joseph dictated as he went, the record’s consistency points to an inspired source for the translation’s accuracy. After all, can you quote the twenty-one words of Lehi [after just having read them]…without looking?
John W. Welch, ed., Reexploring the Book of Mormon, 23

[Hemidakota]

Quotes for Discussion

1 Nephi 1:7

Overcome with the Spirit

The presence of God withdrew from Moses…as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth…it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself:…for this…I know that man is nothing…I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and…I was transfigured” (Moses 1:9-11).

Describing the reaction of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon to the vision of the three degrees of glory, Philo Dibble said, “Joseph sat firmly and calmly all the time in the midst of a magnificent glory, but Sidney sat limp and pale, apparently as limber as a rag, observing which, Joseph remarked, smilingly, “Sidney is not used to it as I am” (Philo Dibble, “Recollections,” Juvenile Instructor 27 [1892], 303).

....the last comment had me laughing.

I do know we lose our abilities as to our body strength when the Spirit overcomes us in person, when viewing such manifestations.

[Heather]

I thought that was funny too. I would be happy with myself if I only became limp and pale, and limber as a rag after such a vision. My heart goes out to Sidney.

[Hemidakota]

Something Professor wrote on when Lehi was called a prophet, who else was around during that time frame.

Uriah was a prophet and had this particular gift. He went around and Jeremiah was authorizing him. You notice how Lehi took up the activity later on. Lachish Letter number six tells us, "The words of the prophets are dangerously undermining morale of both the military and the people. Behold, the words are not good, both to weaken the hands of the country and the city everywhere." Jer. 38 says the very same thing, "For thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war [soldiers, yedê anshê ha-milhamah] that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people [kol ha-am]" (Jer. 38:4 ). This is what we are told in the Book of Mormon, that many prophets came prophesying doom, and the people must repent. Nephi said that there were many prophets. "Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people" (1 Ne. 1:5 ). In the fifth verse already; things move fast in that first chapter. In reply to his prayer, he received a vision which sent him out to join the prophets. Nephi said, "My fatherÂwent forth among the people, and began to prophesy" (verse 18). This was as a result of this vision. What happened? He wasn't a prophet before, but then he joined the prophets. He went forth among the people. You notice that every mention of the prophets here says that they were discouraging the people-that they were spreading dissent (repentance) among the people. It worried the ruling party, of course; it made them look bad. Verse 18: "Âand began to prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard" (his vision). Well, he got into real trouble then, as you know. In 1 Ne. 7:14, Nephi tells us, "For behold, they have rejected the prophets, and Jeremiah have they cast into prison [this is not by revelation; he knows this by the news]. And they have sought to take away the life of my father, insomuch that they have driven him out of the land." Such is the situation.

[Hemidakota]

1 Nephi 1:6

Similarly, Joseph Smith learned much in the First Vision that he was forbidden to write or tell (see Joseph Smith—History 1:20). Of his vision of the degrees of glory he said, “I could explain a hundred fold more than I ever have of the glories of the kingdoms manifested to me in the vision, were I permitted, and were the people prepared to receive them.”

TPJS, p. 30

I have to agree. We do at times want to help others when we ourselves are made privy to to that topic briefly being discussed.Trying to add further clarity but only to find, they will reject it. Without the aid of the Holy Spirit, it is mere fruitless effort to do so. Others may call it self-pride or an ego move, yet, failed to see that want only for others to share it too. I can understand why Joseph had this problem.

Talk about the pillar of fire, Apostle Bruce R. McConkie had this to say:

Heavenly fire has often been used by the Lord in giving miraculous manifestations to his prophets. (Gen. 15:17; Ex. 3:2; 24:17; 1 Ne. 1:6.) Lehi and Nephi, sons of Helaman, "were encircled about as if by fire, . . . and were not burned," as a means of protecting them in their ministry, a miracle soon expanded to embrace "about three hundred souls." (Hela. 5:23-49.) Fire from heaven encircled groups of worshipers in connection with the ministry of the resurrected Lord among the Nephites (2 Ne. 17:23-24; 19:13-14), and the Three Nephite disciples were cast into fiery furnaces and came out unharmed. (3 Ne. 28:21; 4 Ne. 32; Morm. 8: 24.) Similar protection was given Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when Nebuchadnezzar had them cast into a fiery furnace so hot that it slew the handlers who carried out the deed. (Dan. 3.)

Mormon Doctrine

[rameumptom]

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1 Nephi 1:5-8

5 Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people.

6 And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly.

7 And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.

8 And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.

Lehi went forth "with all his heart." I wonder how often I've gone out with only a portion of my heart in attendance? Does my reluctance, indifference, or fear show through?

I wonder how many of us are open enough to receive such revelations? What kinds of things has the Lord revealed to us that would cause us to quake and tremble and be overcome by the Spirit?

Of course, the great experience is that of seeing God on his throne. This theophany is the beginning and the end of the Mormon experience. We begin in God's presence, and we seek to end in His presence. The temple becomes our practice in preparing for that great and terrible day of the Lord, when we will all come before his judgment bar and be judged according to the works of faith we've wrought.

[Misshalfway]

I think too often we wait for God to come to us....instead of seeking him diligently. I think that is what impresses me most about Nephi is that he is constantly moving himself toward God and companion-ing (is that a word? Ha!) himself with God.

I see in myself sometimes an impatience. I wait for God to come to me and show me things and when he doesn't, then I sometimes doubt. I feel like that is part of my natural man I am trying to discipline. I love it when Nephi goes to pray about his father's dream or about his own anger or about his troubling and bothersome brothers or about how to make tools for a boat! There isn't a part of his life that God doesn't influence.....no part that Nephi keeps away from the Lord.